CITIZEN SCIENCE IN THE REMOTE CYCLADES

"CITIZEN SCIENCE IN THE REMOTE CYCLADES: LOCAL PATHS TO CHANGE" IS A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE ISLANDS OF SIKINOS AND THIRASIA IN CYCLADES.

SciCo in collaboration with the Cyclades Preservation Fund undertook the guidance and support of students in secondary education, as well as residents of Sikinos, Thirasia and Donoussa, for the creation of free digital applications, aiming at mapping paths and points of interest of the islands.

Students, teachers, and residents on the 3 islands became familiar with STEM Education and were trained in gathering the necessary information about trails and in developing an application through MIT's AppInventor. Accredited teachers of SciCo visited the islands and provided the participants with the necessary support. The project also included field work, through hiking with the participants, in order to identify the routes, the sites and points of interest included in the application (antiquities, churches, natural resources, etc.). Throughout the project, the wider community was actively involved both in providing information about the elements included in the application and in promoting the application after its completion. The 3 apps are available via QR codes contained on posters placed in central spots on the islands.

Through this Citizen Science program, hikers and visitors can send data and photos "real time", contributing to data collection and coming closer to scientific research. Thus, it is possible to collect data for each path’s condition, in order to ensure that the necessary actions have been made, such as cleaning the trash, changing signs, etc. Another important result will be the observation of biodiversity, i.e., the flora and fauna of a specific geographical location and time.